On the third hour of the twenty-fifth day of the year of Hoth, people in the streets of Trigan City began suddenly to act in a most remarkable manner. Aaaaah! The cold! The icy cold! What’s happening to us? Within instants, ice was forming everywhere. Get under cover, before we all freeze to death! Help me with this old man before he perishes. Down in the harbour, the sudden and fantastic fall in temperature froze the sea. Ships were crushed in the grip of the mountainous ice formations. The Trigan Bay bridge, weighed down by the sudden addition of the ice mass, sagged and broke . . . . . . with disastrous results! At noonday, the temperature rocketed back to normal and the streets of the city ran deeply with melted ice. It’s unbelievable! Fantastic!The Emperor Trigo summoned an Imperial Council meeting, to discuss the strange disaster. Peric, Elekton’s top scientist, gave his opinion. It is my theory that the phenomenon of the falling temperature had no natural cause. Are you suggesting, Peric, that it was caused deliberately? I am, Majesty! I believe that a person or persons unknown have discovered a means to control the magnetic field of this planet, and consequently control the weather and climate. I do not have to remind you that such total command over life on Elekton makes this person or persons virtual dictators. I am convinced, however, that the source of this magnetic power can be detected from the air. So I have devised a piece of equipment which can be carried in an ordinary air craft. The great silence was interrupted by Janno, the Emperor’s nephew. I’ll do it! I’ll fly the detector craft! I half guessed that my young friend would volunteer! Two days later, Janno took off in his specially-equipped air craft. His task, to circumnavigate the planet at zero height, searching for the source of the sinister power. That same day, totally without warning . . . it happened! Aaaaah! The heat, the heat! I must have water! All the continent of Victris lay under a searing heat wave! The temperature rose to dizzy heights. In the great square of Trigan City, people staggered to the fountains, trying to slake their thirsts in the overheated waters. We are all going to die! No one can live through this heat!
This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 682 on 8 February 1975.
